Rangers Have Pair of Intriguing Two-Way Prospects in Minor League System

The Texas Rangers may or may not have the next Shohei Ohtani in their minor league system.

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Everyone wants a Shohei Ohtani. But he’s special because players like him are hard to find. But the Texas Rangers are trying.

The Rangers’ farm system was re-ranked recently by Baseball America (subscription required) and the publication included a pair of two-way prospects among the system’s Top 30.

It's possible that neither player will play both ways if they make it to the Majors. There are several examples of players who started out as two-way players in the minor leagues who eventually gravitated toward a set position. But, for now, Texas will let both prospects figure out where they fit best by playing them both ways.

Rangers Two Way Prospects

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The one that is better known to Rangers fans is Seong-Jun Kim, who was ranked No. 23. The Rangers signed him this past summer out of South Korea. He plays shortstop and is also a right-handed pitcher. Texas signed him before he graduated from high school. He was supposed to graduate from Gwangju Jeil High School in January.

From an age perspective, the 18-year-old is no younger than the international prospects the Rangers sign out of the Caribbean and South America every year. Texas allowed him to play a small number of games with their Dominican Summer League affiliate. He went 2-for-12 in three games at the plate and pitched one inning. In that inning he struck out two hitters and walked none.

The Rangers intend to let him work as both a shortstop and a pitcher for now. His performance will dictate his path. He does come from a high school with a solid pedigree of MLB players, including Byung-Hyun Kim, Hee-Seop Choi, Jae Weong Seo and Jung Ho Kang, per ESPN.

He was Korea’s high school player of the year in 2024. In his last season of prep baseball, he batted .333 and hit 95 mph on the radar gun as a pitcher.

The other is Josh Owens, who is higher ranked at No. 4. The Rangers drafted Owen in the third round of last year’s MLB draft out of Providence High School in Johnson City, Tenn. Texas immediately got him started at their Class-A affiliate in Hickory. He went 2-for-24 in eight games at the plate, striking out 11 times. The 19-year-old also pitched in two games, striking out six and walking three in four innings. He only allowed one hit and one run.

Texas liked him enough to offer him an over-slot bonus of $1.1 million. His father, Jeremy, never played in the Majors but played 18 years of pro baseball. MLB Pipeline indicated that scouts like him more as a hitter, but Owens has a fastball that hits 93 mph on the radar gun.